Monday, 24 October 2011

Our October meeting was the AGM (28 minutes flat - must be the ideal length for an AGM!) and 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'. Members brought items they could recommend (the Good), such as a bias tape maker, using a pipecleaner to clear the fluff out of your machine, Sewer's Aid-a miracle silicon-based liquid, a magnet on an extendable rod for picking pins up, a magnetic bowl for pins and other useful gadgets; things they hated (the Bad) such as a half square triangle sewer, a circle cutter, a handle turner, bias bars and other things so useless I've forgotten them! and the Ugly, some pretty unusual fabrics piled up, although most of them (and the Bads) were left by their owners to go on the sales table at our forthcoming exhibition (and they were all sold!)

Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd October saw our biannual exhibition at Walcote Village Hall. The banner looks good here, but the wind took its toll, and by the end of the weekend, it was sorely in need of repair. We had over 200 visitors over the two days, and all the comments I heard were very positive. One man said that coming into the hall felt like 'a breath of fresh air' compared to the entrance to the Festival of Quilts. I'm not quite sure what he meant, but it must be a compliment!The hall is spacious, and the lovely wooden floors set off the quilts to perfection.On the right you can see Stephanie's king size quilt - our hangers were amazed at how big it was.The variety of different quilt styles was very pleasing. There were applique, abstract, scrap piecing, curves, traditional blocks, strippies, blocks of the month and original designs. Something for everyone.Some quilts repaid careful close scrutiny, while others looked their best at arm's length.

Some had been hand pieced, such as Sylvia's wonderful Patchwork of the Crosses, made for her grandaughter's wedding, while most had been machine pieced.No British quilt show would be complete without a few hexagons, and Ann's blue and white quilt is simple yet perfect.

We wanted to appeal to people's aesthetic senses, but were aware that some had travelled some distance, and would need sustenance. Refeshments at a quilt show aren't right without an array of tempting home-made cakes. These proved to be very popular amongst all our visitors, old and young alike. The refreshments area gave visitors and stewards a chance for a sit down and a restoring cuppa! Another big draw was the sales table, featuring everything from fabric, kits books and patterns, through home-made items of all descriptions to the unwanted Bads and Uglies from the AGM! And of course, since quilters are such generous people here is our charity corner, showing Quilts for Injured Servicemen, donated to our brave boys and girls at Headley Court, and Project Linus Quilts, for children in need of a hug.

What a great exhibition, and a great weekend. It gave us great pleasure to stage this community event and give entertainment to so many people. Hope you enjoyed it too!